


Like an Indian Summer

by CodeBlue1180, MrsFlashBrightside, Patriots1180



Category: National Football League RPF
Genre: Actor!Danny, Alternate Universe, BAMF Danny, Cheating, Cocky Danny, I kinda see Danny as Ryan Gosling, Julian must be protected, Julian's Divided, M/M, One-Sided Love, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Rough Sex, Sex, but not for long, the struggle is real
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2020-05-13 09:00:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19248007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CodeBlue1180/pseuds/CodeBlue1180, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsFlashBrightside/pseuds/MrsFlashBrightside, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patriots1180/pseuds/Patriots1180
Summary: "You're like an Indian summer in the middle of winter."Julian's life is a mess, he's being forced out of the closer after someone posted a video of him on Youtube, his Country Singer boyfriend won't help him and on top of all that he has to avoid a media disaster.Entering Danny Amendola, an actor who's Casanova reputation is the only thing on the way of getting his Oscar.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Holy cow, it's been years since the last time I posted anything, but I've been missing Badass Dola, so here I am!  
> A special shout out to my girls Patriots1180 and Codeblue1180 for helping with this!

_Is crisis hitting the Patriots?_

_When we think of the Patriots, we think of the most incredible Coach/Quarterback duo in football history, Belichick and Brady. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are the most victorious duo football fans have ever seen._

_Fans of good-looking men also think of the insane quantity of models on the team’s roster. Tom Brady, Stephen Gostkowski, Sony Michel, and Devin McCourty are only a few names that can get sighs out of anyone._

_However, the king of good looks, Julian Edelman, has been attracting quite a few comments since last night. Someone uploaded a video on YouTube of Patriots star receiver being pulled into a van by a pair of muscular arms, assumed to be male. Edelman, in Los Angeles during the off-season, was enjoying Logan Thomas’s concert and was later seen leaving the van quite pleased with himself. Witnesses said he left without his jacket and hickeys were visible on his neck._

_Aside from said arms, no one could identify who the mystery guy in the van with the Patriots' star wide receiver. Leaving us all to wonder whose Edelman’s mystery guy._

_Around the NFL some players manifested support and some were… Well, let’s say they weren’t as supportive as Aaron Rodgers or Kay Adam’s tweets:_

**_Aaron Rodgers_ ** _‏_

_Why do you guys worry so much over @Edelman11 being with a guy? Dude’s SB MVP and has three rings and is a heck of a player. He was never disrespectful towards anyone, so let him be. #LetLoveBeLove #LetsGo_

**_Kay Adams_ **

_Am I jealous of that guy? No. Would I be if I was single? Yes. :o :O_

_Right now Edelman is unreachable, his manager said he’s still asleep, so we’re waiting for his statement, which will take place later today or tomorrow morning._

_How is the football world going to react to Julian Edelman’s new love interest? How about the ladies who drool over him?_

“THIS IS BULLSHIT, KYLE!” Julian shouts at his PA, pacing his spacious living room. Still wearing the white t-shirt and jeans from the day before.  His hair was a mess and he couldn’t stop running his fingers through it. Logan his tall, blonde, green-eyed All-American boyfriend sat rigid on the couch, emotionless, eyes roaming the white walls.

“It’s not Julian.” The little brunette raises his grey eyes from his iPhone and meeting Julian’sown. “You have to make a public statement and for the sake of not being badly injured when you return to the field you have to tell them you have a long time boyfriend.”

“I can’t.” are the first words to escape Logan the whole morning. Julian looks at him rage shooting through his veins. His two-year long boyfriend, who happens to be the reason why he got into that situation, was telling him he’s not helping. “Babe.” He whispered. “I’m a country singer. My fans ain’t going to be supportive of me and they will disappear the minute I come out.”

“YOU DON’T THINK I’LL BE GOING THROUGH THE SAME SHIT, LOGAN?” Julian was unable to lower his tone even with his manager’s exasperated sigh. “I’M A FUCKING FOOTBALL PLAYER! SO FUCK YOU IF YOU DON’T THINK A HOMOPHOBIC PIECE OF SHIT IS NOT HAVING A FUCKING FIELD DAY THINKING HOW HE’S GOING TO HURT ME!”

“NO JULIAN, FUCK YOU! I LOVE YOU, BUT I AIN’T GOING OUT THERE TO SING TO CRAZY HOMOPHOBOS!” Logan raises his voice as well and gets up violently.

“SO FUCK ME, RIGHT? WHY ARE WE-”

“SHUT UP!” Layla, Julian’s public relation manager raises her voice and the receiver had never seen the cute redhead so nervous, her green eyes flickering between the two men. “You both have points,” she says, her voice returning to its usual reserved tone. “Julian needs someone and I get it. Thomas doesn’t need crazy hunters with riffles on his neck, great point. But screaming is not helping!”

Resigning himself, Julian looks at her, hiding his face before speaking, “What should we do?”

“Okay,” Kyle starts, “Layla already told me what she thinks we should do. We knew Logan was never going to be able to help us. It’s dangerous, Jules, do you really want to see this beautiful specimen dead?” Julian looks at his boyfriend’s beautiful face, his cute pointed nose, round green eyes and rosy mouth. He couldn’t let that happen.

Stepping closer to hug Logan by the waist, he mutters “No.” in his chest.

“Baby, I’m sorry.” Is Logan’s answer, while wrapping his arms around Julian’s shoulders.

“We knew it, Logan,” Kyle says putting his phone in his pocket. “We gotta go, Imma take you back home. I called Tom; he says we can use the passage to his house to leave from there, so no one sees you.”

They kissed, it was sweet but over in a matter of seconds. Logan heads out the door and leaving Julian with Patrick and Layla, sitting on the couch and desperate to know what the hell he’s supposed to do now.

“Ok Julian,” Layla pats his shoulder to get his attention. “Logan is gone, but Kyle’s going to tell him every step of the plan. For now, I’m going to need you not to interrupt me, ok?” Julian nods. “So do you recognize the name Danny Amendola?”

Of course Julian does! Hollywood hotshot, model/actor, owner of a sexy body and a killer jaw. He could see Danny’s smile on the iconic scene of ‘A Love’s Diary’. Him kissing the girl in the rain was so beautifully portrayed and he should’ve got an Oscar for it.

“Yeah,” He shrugs, Danny has nothing to do with his situation, aside from the fact he was outed as well.

“So you know he’s bisexual?” Julian nods at the ginger. “He’s a great actor and the word around is that the only reason he hasn’t got an Oscar yet is that he’s a bit of a casanova.”

“So…” Patrick says in the awkward silence that filled to room, waiting for Julian to finally understand what she meant.

“NO!” He moves aside to glare at the petit-redhead. He’s outraged that she assumed he would play pretend with a Hollywood snob, even if he happens to be hot as a Sahara Desert. “I HAVE A BOYFRIEND!”

“That won’t end up with a bullet in his head if we get Danny into this.” Patrick ignores Julian’s protests and stands to move towards the kitchen. “Please, if you have his phone number, call Hollywood. Julian’s gonna do it.”

“I won’t-”

“Julian,” Layla caresses Julian’s shoulder to calm the receiver who turned to look at her “Danny is a temporary solution. Your team already knows it and they’re ok, but the other teams are finding out as we speak, they just need to be able relax around you. It’s only a year assuming you go to the Super Bowl.”

Logan’s sweet smile appears in front of his eyes, when he closes it for a second. If it is for Logan’s safety, he thinks he can do it, so he only nods eyes falling to the wooden floor.

Moving around, he sees Layla putting her phone on speaker mode and hopes for the best.

“Davies speaking,” A high pitched female voice answers after the third ring.

“Hello, I’m Layla Conrad, Julian Edelman’s Public Relation manager.”

“Uh, quite the mess you got,” Julian snorts automatically and Davies hears it. “Is that Mister Edelman?”

“Unfortunately,” He replied.

“Anyways, I was hoping we could have a video call, because the nature of what I’m about to propose is urgent and I’d rather you know for certain it’s not a scam.”

A minute goes by before they’re in a video chat with a beautiful green-eyed, blonde woman.

“Hey there,” Davies smiles politely at them “Mr. Edelman and Miss Conrad.”

“So,” Layla starts, getting closer to Julian to make sure both of them were on the screen. “As you’re aware Julian here got into a similar situation as your client, Mister Amendola was a few years ago.”

“And you two looking for advice on that?” She asks both appearing completely uninterested, staring at her perfect polished nails. “Because Danny is an actor, the only problem he had was not getting part here and there... He has bodyguards on him 24/7 and no one has ever tried to attack him. They’d have to be the size of a grizzly bear to do so.”

“Thanks for the reminder,” Julian mumbles and glances to his curtains that are closed to scare away the paparazzi outside just waiting to swarm him.

“That’s not the reason I called,” Layla said regaining the reins of the conversation. “I know you’ve been pressing Danny to get into a relationship.” The implicit meaning seems to get the blonde’s attention; she looks up from her nails with a raised eyebrow.

“Choose carefully your next words and we might be onto something really good here,” She examines Julian’s face cautiously, pouting and running her index up and down her jaw like she was thinking.

“I’ll be straightforward,” the redhead pauses to gather her thoughts. “I think both Danny and Julian could benefit from an arranged relationship. It won’t be anything, of course. Julian’s dating someone that can’t come out at the moment and Danny gets to keep his freedom. If he agrees to it, we’ll be happy to extend the arrangement until the Oscars. They will appear together in events and we’d really like to start this as soon as possible. You’re all welcome to come to Julian’s house here in LA.”

“Well, he’s definitely Danny’s type,” Davies says analyzing Julian clinically and he can’t help but blush hard. “Give me half an hour. If it’s up to me we’re all in.”

So they wait.

Patrick comes back with a plate full of things Julian doesn’t really want to eat and barely touches. The idea of pretending to be the boyfriend of his star crush is haunting him and he catches himself wishing Danny accepted the proposal. Not because he wanted cheat his boyfriend, no one compares to Logan and the way he feels butterflies in his stomach every time Logan sings to him. But because he can’t stop his inner teenager from doing backflips inside his chest at the thought of meeting Danny Fucking Amendola.

Maybe, just maybe, Remember the Titans is the reason he found out he is gay. Danny was only seventeen back then, but Julian still can picture his perfect hair sweaty from playing. The actor only improved with time, more muscles, more definition and his low voice was incredible, he fought back the shivers just thinking about it.

He’s contemplating how not to be a fanboy when Layla walks back into the room, he didn’t realize she had left.

“Julian, take a shower, Amendola’s in. He’s on his way here and I’m scheduling your public statement for 1 P.M.” He follows her orders automatically, too shocked to consider what he’s about to do. His mind offering images of his younger self masturbating to posters of the actor the entire half hour it took him to get ready.

“You sure you’re not underdressed?” Patrick asks when he gets back to the living room in a red JE11 hoodie, jeans and sneakers. Looking at himself, he shrugs and walks towards the covered window, waiting to hear when Danny arrives.

“No,” Layla walks closer and stops beside him. “He’s showing his brand stands for the LGBTQ community and the rest is pretty much Julian.”

Outside the noise grows exponentially and they know Danny’s arrived. Patrick goes outside to open the gates and make sure the security staff keeps everyone outside the door.

“You ready?” Layla mumbles when they move to watch a black SUV through a crack in the curtain. Julian shakes his head, unable to speak or even breathe in properly.

It’s almost like the world is in slow-motion when the man Julian’s been fantasizing about for the last hour, steps out the car. He’s in dark jeans, white oxfords, red plaid shirt tied around his waist and much to his surprise, a white JE11 t-shirt. He recognizes his Boston Strong design, he posed for it years ago.

Danny is even more beautiful in person, muscular form turning to the paparazzi and judging by the reaction he does more than just waving. He’s still smiling when he crosses Julian’s door with Patrick closing it behind them quickly and guiding him to meet the receiver.

His captiving eyes are the first thing Julian sees. They shine, the big screen didn’t do them justice. No camera had ever captured their true beauty,sucking the receiver right in, like hot chocolate on a cold winter night.

The second thing he notices is Danny’s smirk. It’s confident and edging on cockiness.

“I’d have brought flowers and chocolate,” Danny offers him a greasy paper bag, never losing the confident tilt of his lips. “But I’m a fan, so I brought cheeseburgers. I haven’t had lunch.” Julian takes the bag, his eyes are wide as they flickered between Danny and back to the bag. “The one with bacon is mine. Not Jewish.”

“You know me?” He asks in disbelief as Danny shakes his hand briefly. His hand is warm and soft against Julian’s and he thinks the contrast is nice.

“Know you?” Danny seems as surprised as he is. “I own seven copies of your Body Issue! Don’t ask why, I’ve seen your body more times than I can count.”

“Not really comfortable with that,” Julian tears his eyes away from the actor’s molten chocolate ones.

“You put your body on the line,” The brunette finally lets the smirk slip and falls onto Julian’s couch. “I’m only an avid consumer of the material where you appear naked.”

“You know this is just an arrangement, right?” Julian says, moving to sit on the other end of the couch, far from Danny. He’s slightly disappointed his star crush is a guy that’s convinced he’s the man. “No naked bodies or shit, I have a boyfriend.”

“And I have lots of them baby.” Danny shrugs looking away from Julian’s body to take in the rest of the apartment. “But for now sweetie, I’m your hot boyfriend. Well, at least till I get my Oscar.”

Julian looks disgusted at Layla, asking wordlessly ‘What the fuck is happening?’ and she stared wide-eyed at the unpleasant surprise. Danny was always so sweet in interviews and seemed genuinely interested in him, like a true fan. He’s pretty sure Danny is not used to be denied, because he only grows more annoying after Julian’s denial. The actor couldn’t be really interested in him could he?

“Hey, the burgers are really good.” Danny reached for the paper bag and their hands touch for the second before Julian pulled away. The actor raises his brow quizzically and his smirk is back. “We have to be done with the awkward phase where we don’t know each other. The people waiting out there.” He motions to the front lawn. “Think I left hickeys on your neck. Not that given the chance, I wouldn’t. I would Edward Cullen the hell out of you.”

Julian and his managers exchange a frightened look. He’s surprised Danny seems really interested and it was flattering, but he’s in love with Logan. “Don’t think I’ll hesitate before touching you! I’m an actor, this is what I do. I touch people and I make everyone believe that anything is possible. Would I be all up on you if this was for real? Hell yeah! But it’s not! So just play along with me. I need an Oscar and you need to be alive and healthy long enough to win your fourth ring.”

“Mister Amen-”

“Listen,” Danny cuts Layla before she starts. He’s looking in Julian’s direction and has a great looking burger in his right hand. “I want to discuss this with you, Julian. I have nothing against your managers, but this is you and I,” His tone is so serious and the wide receiver turns to his management staff and nods for them to leave. The redhead looks surprised at the request but follows Julian’s order anyway.

“I’m not biting you, relax,” Danny grins, his smile turning into a sweet one and Julian finally sees the man he saw in the interviews. “That is,unless you like it. Then I’d be happy to oblige.”

“Danny, this has to stop!” Julian sighs in exasperation once again, running his hands through his hair. Everything is slipping out of his control and he doesn’t like it. “There are no cameras here, you don’t have to be like this! We don’t even know each other and you’re hitting on me like I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to you.” The other man’s laughter is outrageous and Julian only stares back in disbelief.

“Speak for yourself.” Danny takes another burger from the bag and offers it to the receiver. “Take it, you love burgers and the sauce is extra-spicy, just like you like.” He speaks like it’s natural knowing someone’s preference after they just met. Julian starts to fear for his life when Danny drops the burger on his lap.“Are you some sort of crazy fan? How long have you been watching my life?”

“Chill out! If I was stalking you I’d know the fucker who wasn’t classy enough to take you a nicer place before sucking those marks on your neck,” Julian is about to reason with him that Logan’s not a fucker, they just really love each other and couldn’t wait any longer. “I’m not some crazy stalker, I’m just a well-prepared actor. It’s all on Reddit. You love spicy food, gnocchi, smoothies, your Jersey number was 11 then 1 back at Kent. Your favorite color is blue and your bromance with Tom shouldn’t annoy me as much as it does.”

Julian’s too baffled to answer, staring at the other man as he takes a big bite of his burger. The moan he lets escape should be a sin. It’s as if the actor is making love to his food in a very explicit way. It shouldn’t be as uncomfortable as it is but he’s watching his teenager crush taking part in food porn and it was almost a sexual experience.

“You have to try it.” Danny continues wiping the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and then licking the sauce offeach of his fingers sensually. Julian blames Danny being the first guy to inhabit his wet dreams because he can’t tear his eyes away. The other man, however, was too busy cleaning himself to notice. “Anyway, your Instagram is a mess and Jackie didn’t tell me your favorite band, just that you’re eclectic.”

“And what do you know about me?” Julian blurts out before he can think why he even bothered to ask. “You Danny, not your manager.”

Looking up from his burger, Danny seems intrigued by the question, silent for a second too long, before starting to speak. “You’re a passionate man. You love what you do and you love your life. I’m a huge Pats fan, so that piece about Tom is true. Your friendship is so freaking weird. Is your boy aware of how much you and Tom look like a couple? Oh, and speaking of him, that bastard has got to be the luckiest motherfucker ever! You’re putting your ass on the line for him and he’s not even here.”

The worst part is, in his head, Julian agrees with Danny. Logan should’ve been here and he shouldn’t be thinking that way, but Danny is looking at him like he’s the prettiest thing he’s ever seen and it's making him feel like he’s more important than anything else. A groan escapes from his throat before he realizes and suddenly Danny is close to him again. The actor is touching his arm asking if everything is ok. It’s impossible not to feel the whiplash from how quickly Danny goes from incredibly cocky to incredibly caring in a spilt second. He looks so worried about Julian that the blonde has to remind himself he’s an actor.

“Logan,” He mumbles, feeling guilty for thinking of Logan like that. He can’t stop himself, mentioning his boyfriend to put a wall between them and hoping to stop the trail of devilish thoughts. The brunette simply raises a brow at him like he’s trying to understand what Julian said. “Logan Thomas is my boyfriend,” He says clearly this time.

“WOW!” Danny’s still swallowing when the interjection gets out of his lips. “Really?” He asks, disappointment all over his face.

“For an actor, you can’t hide anything,” Julian finally gives in and unwrap his burger.

“Oh, give me break…” Everything Danny says after that is lost once Julian takes his first bite. The burger is a sure top five on his list and he’s eaten his fair share of burgers. “Yeah, I know it’s awesome, you can thank me later,” Danny starts again after a while. “For now, let’s focus on your mediocre vanilla boyfriend. Really?”

“Fuck you,” Julian says, his mouth full of pieces of heaven on earth. “He’s hot and sweet.”

“He’s a gigantic walking vanilla donut,” Danny says smirking again.

“He’s amazing in so many ways you can’t possibly begin to understand,” he retorts in defense of his caring, sweet, good-looking and hot as hell in bed partner.

“So he’s gotta a big dick? Well, so do I.” Danny gets up, his burger half-eaten in his hand. Julian is so shocked by the actor’s words he almost chokes. The actor sends him a knowing smirk “Betcha if you’d gotten in bed with me, you’d be ruined to mankind, especially to that boring boyfriend of yours.” He bites off another piece and Julian can help but laugh like a maniac.

Never, in his wildest dreams, did he imaginehe’d be discussing sex with Danny Amendola.

“Making love and having sex are two different things,” Julian replies when he finally stops to breathe. “You could be a sex machine for all I know. Nothing is better than having Logan in my bed.”

“Oh Jesus,” Danny groans and looks back at him, grimacing. “You like the sweet type?” Julian had never considered himself that guy, but Logan makes him so happy that he can’t stop but wonder if he has a type, so he just shrugs. “Alright. I can be so sweet that by the end of this shit you’ll be diabetic. But just remember, if you’re into spicy,” He blinks. “There’s no way you can go wrong.”

Julian’s skin tingles with heat and his body is starting to react to the way Danny is smiling, like the actor would worship his body given the opportunity. So he shoves his burger into his mouth and looks away to avoid being caught, but Danny’s laughter lets him know he saw it.

“Ok sweetheart,” Danny says sitting by his side again, but closer than before. His thigh is touching Julian’s, his free hand on his knee, and the actor’s touch is warm. Danny’s thigh is very muscular, almost like he is in the NFL himself. It makes it difficult to not compare Logan’s sweet but calloused touch to Danny’s smooth but strong grip. He’s about to force himself to push Danny away when the man begins “You have to stop pushing me away. Honestly, I won’t be like this forever, just till you get used to it. Because once we’re outside I’m gonna be very tactile. They’ve seen me with my past relationships, they know I’m a handsy guy,” Against his will, Julian sucks a breath and nods imagining Logan is the one placing his arm around his shoulder.

It’s impossible.

Danny’s muscular where Logan’s soft, his scent is something woody but also spicy where Logan smells citrusy. And worse yet, Danny’s body is strong and hot on his side. At the best, his boyfriend is warm and the difference makes Julian dizzy.

“We have about twenty minutes for you get to know me,” Danny continues after they finish the rest of their burgers and Julian’s close to his chest. “I know you’re comfy babe, don’t try to deny it.” Julian only growls in response, unable to lie. “Important things to know for now. I love the Patriots, my favorite color is black, I love alternative music, my favorite food in the world is nachos and I live to buy Bose headphones and Ray-bans. Oh, and I love Sour Patch Kids and Snickers.”

“Why would I need to know that?” He asks turning his head to see Danny staring back at him. For a moment they’re lost in each other, smiling as they forget the reason why they were there.

“Yeah,” Danny mumbles breaking their connection and Julian forces himself to look away. He has to remind himself somewhere Logan would feel betrayed if he ever saw them like that. “Tell me babe, how’d we met?”

“Do you need to call me babe?” Julian groaned, massaging his temples as he pulled away from Danny’s touch. He tries not to hiss when the actor places his hand on his lower back.

“Honeybun then?” He offers sarcastically and Julian shudders in disgust. “See? Babe!”

“Ok,” Julian goes back to leaning against the other man’s chest, telling himself he needs to get used to the touch. The actor is happy to pull him back into his embrace again and even if he tries to deny it, he’s starting to grow comfortable touching Danny. “You’re a famous fan, how about we met through my Instagram account and we went out after we played San Francisco.”

“I was really there for that game.” Danny mumbles in his neck and Julian suppresses a groan as best as he can. “But you need to follow me.” The actor instructs and once again Julian’s feels heat creeping up his face. He shakes his head and the actor frowns slightly. “You already follow me?”

“Bosley was kind of a crush,” he admits reluctantly.

“Wait,” Danny smirks, his face inches away from Julian’s own. Being so closer, the receiver can see the faint freckles that dot Danny’s cheeks and nose, as well as the many shades of reflected in the actor’s brown eyes. He looks so excited, the smile on his lips so big that Julian becomes even more embarrassed. “Oh my God, was I your teenager crush?”

Julian is staring into Danny’s eyes and he is about to playfully tell the actor to fuck off when Layla’s voice pulls them from their trance.

“You two look great,” She sounds like she’s hiding something and by the way she’s smiling he suspects she’s been watching them for a while.

“Of course we do! We’re hot!” Danny replies retrieving his arm from around the receiver and rising to his feet. For a second, Julian feels like something is missing but then dismisses it and follows after Danny.

The flashes of cameras greet them as they make their way outside. Julian’s nervous but Danny’s is demanding, holding his hand and pulling him towards the little platform his managers put together. A deafening chorus of Julian’s and Danny’s is heard until Patrick demands silence. Beside him, Davies’ smile is as bright as the sun and even their P.A.s talk to each other effortlessly as if they had been doing it for years.

“Huh, Hi guys.” Julian starts, his hand is sweaty against Danny’s but the actor doesn’t let it go, instead giving it a light squeeze. “I don’t know what to say,” he says as calmly as he can.

“Babe,” Danny says loud enough to be heard, but low enough to pass as if he doesn’t mean foranyone to overhear. “Just tell them,” he pleads and Julian’s hit with how good of an actor Danny really is. While he must look constipated, Danny’s expression is painful, like he needs the world to know about their relationship, even though it doesn’t exist. “You’re already here, so remember I love you.”

The reporter in front of them whimpers and Danny smiles sweetly at him.

“I – I – I,” He swallows hard and tries to calm himself. He closes his eyes a second and evokes all the tenderness he feels when he’s with Logan. “I didn’t want it to happen like this. I wanted to tell everyone that follows me face to face. Tell them I’ve been hiding not because I’m not proud of what I’m, but because my job is full of people that don’t understand that the fact I love a man doesn’t mean I want them or even see them like I see my boyfriend.”

At that point everyone is silent and Danny’s gripping his hand even tighter. The actor steps closer, part of his chest touching Julian’s back and even though he’s baring his soul he feels somewhat safe. “I don’t want to focus on that, though. What I’m here to tell you is that for a year and a half this Sour Patch maniac,” He looks at Danny and smiles at the nickname. Danny smiles back and reaches to cup Julian’s jaw briefly before the receiver turns back to the reporters again. “Has been my ridiculously annoying better half and we’re as happy as happy can be.”

Julian goes quiet for a second and then thousands of question are thrown at them. He’s scared and almost certain he’s going to faint when Danny pulls him into a hug. Julian’s hides himself in the curve of the actor’s neck as he begins to speak. “Look, I was not supposed to talk, because I’ve been here before and I know the drill, quite a few familiar faces. Hi Boyle!” Julian feels Danny nod to someone, but he isn’t turning around to face the crowd again.

“You’re going to ask why I was seen with other people and the truth is, I haven’t been on a date ever since November, 20th. I was always a huge Patriots fan. Check my Instagram account, its full of pictures of me in different stages of fangirling over them, and for some miraculous reason, I was Julian’s teenage crush.” Julian can’t help but laugh and one of Danny’s hands leave his waist to caress his hair. “We’ve been all over each other ever since the game against the 49ers. So please, now that you have your confession, just let us be for a second.”

The reporters are still asking question and the cameras are still flashing as Danny pulls him away from everything and he’s really grateful he had help.

Later that day, after everyone is gone and Logan’s little jealous crisis (Julian really couldn’t blame him, he had seen the pictures) he’s texting Danny. They agree to meet the next day and have lunch when Layla texts him.

_Hey Jules, this has to be your new phone’s wallpaper. Just to be more convincing, you know?_

There’s a photo attached. Danny’s beaming at him, arm around his shoulders and he is leaning against Danny’s chest, looking mighty comfortable as he mockingly rolled his eyes at ‘his boyfriend.”

He knows Layla is kidding.

He knows he loves Logan.

He knows his boyfriend doesn’t need to be scared.

So why does he post it on Instagram and why does he decide to use the picture as his phone’s wallpaper?


	2. My Reputation's Never Been Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dating, kissing, ACM's and friends.
> 
> Something's wrong and Julian can't pinpoint what.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me?” Julian blurted out, he can’t understand why he seems to be unable to stop smiling around Danny. The man is somehow, annoyingly cocky and utterly funny at the same time. They’re sitting in the back of a dive bar, discussing how the actor ended up on the big screen all over the world. Much to Julian’s surprise he’s discovered that once away from the lenses of paparazzi, Danny is one of the most genuinely funny people he’s ever met.  
“No.” The actor replied, beer foam stuck in his beard hair and giving him a beer mustache, to which he seems unaware of and Julian thinks is cute. Danny and his big brown eyes are fascinating and he’s honestly proud he let himself relax around the man. Ignoring how awkward he feels every time Danny flirts with him, he knows he’ll get a great friend at the end of all this. “It’s real! She saw me playing senior year and shit! I got my helmet off and I swear to God the woman was there after I ran forty-fucking-yards for the winning touchdown!”  
“And you gave up football just like that?” Julian reaches for the basket of cheese fries in the middle of the table and his hand grazes Danny’s briefly. He still new to this and they’re in public, so he sucks in a breath pretends it doesn’t feel like cheating his boyfriend; even though he doesn’t feel for Danny what he feels for Logan. “You could be an NFL star right now.” He says leaning closer because the girl on the stage decides it’s time to start playing her guitar and singing again. “Bet we would’ve hired you too. Straight out of the male model catalog Belichick keeps in his office.”  
“It’s so good to hear you say you think I’m handsome.” Danny teases, winking at him as leans closer and shoot the receiver a mischievous smile.  
“Danny.” He warns, but there’s no real heat in his tone. This is just what they do. Danny flirts not planning on following through with what he says, Julian mockingly reprehends him. Then one of them touches the other, a playful slap, ruffing the other’s hair or a light push. It’s been just over a week and they’ve seen each other at least three times (that’s three times more than he has seen Logan, since his boyfriend is on tour).  
They’re in a comfortably quiet moment, and Julian feels like he’s missed the best damn friend he could ever have until the moment he met Danny. It’s weird how they just seem to be on the same page on everything; from food to music, from sports to fashion and even politics, they just click.  
“I’m happy you chose me.” Danny touches his hand over the table and Julian knows he stilled a bit, because the actor gets even closer and his lips are brushing his earlobe. This time Julian can’t stop the shivers under his leather jacket. “Paparazzi two tables behind you. Don’t look.” He doesn’t know how Danny knows it and honestly he’s not really paying attention.  
It’s beyond his football player intelligence how the actor seems to know exactly where and how to touch him leaving him feeling disturbingly hot everywhere. Maybe its the fact he’s missing Logan in his bed, they haven’t had sex since after all this shit started. Or maybe, it’s because Danny is hot as hell and his crush never really died down. He doesn’t know how to explain it and he desperately wants to get away from the other man. But he knows he can’t so he tries his damndest to stay still.  
“So here’s what going to happen.” Danny’s voice drops an octave and the low tone is ridiculously sexy. He sounds so in control that Julian’s sure he knows exactly what he’s doing and the power it he holds over him. “I’m going to kiss you.”  
He can’t react, freezing in his place feeling the actor’s lips dragging across his cheek and briefly touching his lips for a second too long, more than enough to fry his brain. It’s soft, not really much of a kiss, but he can’t move and hopes the paparazzi can’t see how affected he looks.  
Around them no one seems to care they’re there, noses and hands touching. Danny is grinning like the small touch of lips was the best thing that ever happened to him and taking care that they look like couple very much in love.  
“You really had to kiss me?” Julian asks once he can breathe again. It feels like he’s cheating, even though he knows he’s not. He didn’t kiss Danny back after all. He also despises that he doesn’t hate it as he should and it freaks him out.  
“Play along, they’re looking.” Danny says, eskimo kissing him. His breath smells of the honey whiskey he was drinking, making the receiver slightly dizzy. “Of course I did! I didn’t really kiss you, you know?” He pulls away siting back in his chair, and smiling sweetly at him. “If this was real kiss, then I’d have sucked the air out of you.  
“You’d be kissing a dead man.” Julian tries to make a joke, attempting to hide the fact that a mere brush of lips made him lose his breath. He’s worried and completely confused with what just happened but before he can say anything, Danny’s phone rings. He frowns, annoyed by what he sees, he signs to the receiver that he has to take the call and leaves.  
Julian’s plays with the fries; he can’t eat anymore after that kiss. He’s lost in his own thoughts when Danny’s hand touches his shoulder and he practically jumps out of his chair. The actor offers him an apologetic smile and says “Hey babe, I have a meeting I forgot about. Do you want a ride back to your place?”  
“Sure.” he answers absented-mindedly, trying to appear he’s sad they’re leaving. Acting was never his thing and being forced into it had real repercussion on his life. It definitely not his cup of tea. It’s uncomfortable and besides that he’s having difficulty controlling the way his body reacts to Danny and his touches.  
He’s not exactly sure why he’s still thinking about the not kiss later when he’s alone in the solitude of his room, but he is. He still can feel Danny’s breath against his lips and his trying his best to think of something else, like football strategies or Tom’s cryptic texts that morning about offering a bigger room in Montana. However, no matter how hard he tries, his mind keeps going back to the way he should have reacted and he can’t take the guilt.  
His phone goes off the exact same moment he decides to call Logan.  
“Baby, I swear I was thinking of you right now!”  
“Oh really?” Logan’s beautiful voice is full of sarcasm and Julian’s smile drop immediately. “Were you thinking of me when you kissed your faaake boyfriend?”  
“What?” Julian didn’t tell Danny not to kiss him, but he didn’t kiss back. Is he feeling guilty about the not kiss? Yes, but honestly it wouldn’t have happened if Logan was there by his side. “You think I did it because I wanted to?”  
“I’ve been with you for two years now, Jules! You don’t do anything you don’t want to.” Logan counters and yes, the singer is right, but it’s not like he had a choice in the matter.  
“Well, you won’t come out and I don’t want to get killed.” He answers, falling back onto his bed. Julian’s mad beyond measure; all the shit going on is Logan’s fault and then his boyfriend has the audacity to think he would willingly kiss another man? A part of him thinks if Logan didn’t exist then he would more than willingly kiss Danny. But it only serves to prove his point that he really does love Logan. The actor is truly one of the funniest people he’s ever met and was his teenage crush, but Logan is a huge part of his life, and he doesn’t need anyone else. “So unless you want to be the one acting for the cameras shut it and suck it.”  
“Why do we keep going around with this? You know why I can’t.” Logan says exasperated.  
It’s a long awkward silence before Julian opens his mouth again “Ok, well, I have some stuff I gotta do,” It’s a lie but the receiver can’t deal with it anymore. He’s tired of fighting about the same thing over and over again. He’s not even sure the problem is Danny kissing him. It feels like Logan doesn’t care enough to risk his own life; instead needing Julian to be quiet and needy on the side. “As you know, I will be in Las Vegas for the ACMs. I hope we can meet up because ignoring all this shit, I miss you Logan.”  
“Yeah, but only if you can tear yourself away from Danny.” He hears someone in the background call Logan to the stage, but his boyfriend doesn’t answer. “And if you two aren’t sharing a room.”  
Julian groans and replies honestly “God Logan! You lucky I love you.”  
“Love you too, Julian,” The singers says, his voice is low and the receiver can’t help but feel like something is missing before the call ends.  
He is so frustrated with the whole situation and he can’t contain the string of curses that tumble from his mouth. Everyone seems to be in control his life and he doesn’t want to fight anymore. Julian just wants to drink a beer with his boyfriend without worrying someone might be plotting their downfall. Maybe have a chat with his new acquaintance; no flirtatious tone in the air to make him and uncomfortable. But most of all, he wants to stop feeling guilty because he made a new friend.  
He’s about to throw his phone onto his bed when it starts to ring again. Not ready to deal with one of Logan’s guilt crisis’s, the receiver inhales slowly trying to prepare himself. He rolls his eyes, answering the device without bothering to check the caller ID. “What?” His voice is sharp and it startles his assistant.  
“Woah, do I have to kick Danny’s ass?” Layla asks concerned.  
“Naah, Danny and I… we’re good. And I don’t want to talk about it.” Julian tells his PR. He’s glad its Layla and not his boyfriend, even though it makes him feel a little sick. He should want to talk to Logan, but he’s scared it’ll just making things more complicated.  
“That’s good. I mean that you and Danny are ok, since you two are dating now. Well, fake dating. But it’s not good you’re pissed and don’t want to talk about it.” Julian even manages to smile at his PR’s rambling. “Anyway, do you need you a ride home from your date with Danny?”  
“No, I am home.” Julian says flopping down on his bed. Index finger tracing patterns on his sheets as he wished he had something to do with himself other than stare at the bland wall.  
“I thought he had canceled his photo shoot?” Layla sounds confused. “Guess he just postponed it.” She adds happily.  
Julian’s eyes widen when he realizes Danny pushed work aside to spend time with him.  
Logan had never done that. He was never his priority and it makes him question his value to the singer. Danny is not his real boyfriend and certainly there are no feelings involved in this fake relationship. Yet, he risked a job just to sit with him for a couple of hours and drink whiskey.  
“Yeah.’ Julian mumbled weakly. “He forgot that he pushed it back.”  
They talk for a few more minutes before saying their goodbyes. Without giving too much thought it lies back on his fluffy pillows and texts Danny.  
‘So you take me home instead of showing me how a real model does a shoot.’ He sends as a teasingly to Danny. It’s so easy to run to the model and talk to him, but Julian doesn’t want to process that information right now.  
‘Would you really want to sit here for hours watching me put different outfits on and take pictures? And I still have to go to a fit for the ACM’s.’ Danny counters back, but he still thinks it would be nice bicker over the photo shoot.  
‘Better than sitting here dealing with real boyfriend shit.’ Julian admits.  
‘The all mighty Logan still has his little boy underwear stuck up his ass?’ The reply comes five minutes later, when Julian is scrolling through his Instagram and he can’t help but laugh.  
‘Sadly, he still doesn’t get it.’  
‘Look, bet his Superman tighty whities stuck up way to far up his flaccid country ass are still much nicer than this.’  
When Julian opens the file he drops his phone, watching as it falls to the ground. Danny has his back to the camera, looking over his shoulder as he slides his leather jacket off. But if that’s not enough, he’s also getting in a pool clad in a pair of tight short black CK boxer briefs.  
Only a boxer briefs and they’re wet.  
Julian doesn’t reply and Danny doesn’t bother texting again. He’s afraid the model might think he appreciated the picture, which he totally doesn’t. But he can’t bring himself to look at his phone again. Not that he hadn’t seen Danny’s Instagram a thousand times and has seen Calvin Klein ads everywhere, it’s just that this time the picture was meant for him. The other man had asked someone to take this picture and send it to him.  
He punches his mattress in frustration. They’ve known each other for ten days (of course, in his head it feels longer, he was a huge fanboy back in college) and its already is too much.  
They just click and its fun to have someone like that in his life, but sometimes Danny makes him feel sick. He’s everywhere all the time. People ask him about the actor when they’re not seen together. He’s constantly under pressure to give the impression he’s in love with someone he’s not and to make things worse, his stomach does this weird thing, like it’s about to perform backflips every time the brunette does something like this.  
Looking at his phone on the floor, Julian almost can picture the curves of Danny muscular ass even though the screen turned dark minutes before. He doesn’t know why his mind puts the image side by side with his boyfriend’s, not that he wants to compare them, because he doesn’t. It’s just that Danny’s butt is really nice and he’s been insisting for while that Logan should work out.  
Country singers drink a lot. It’s a thing among them and Julian doesn’t really mind, but it’s not ideal, nor healthy. Logan doesn’t drink water enough, eat healthy enough or exercises enough. Selfish as it may be, Julian doesn’t want to lose his boyfriend because of the singer’s bad habits.  
Hugging his pillow, Julian asks his HomePod to turn off the lights and shifts under the sheets until he falls asleep, so deeply in face he doesn’t wake up when his alarm goes off the next morning.  
It’s just a little over midday when he open his eyes for the first time. He’s disoriented for a moment, searching for his phone under his pillow. He’s about ready to panic until he remembers it’s still on the floor and why it’s on the floor. He really doesn’t want to pick it up but he fetches it and unlocks it anyway. He glances away so he can avoid seeing the half naked picture of Danny once again.  
He glances back at the device and he has multiple notifications; three text messages are from Logan, one from Kyle, and one from Danny. He groans, moving through his mourning routine, but instead of breakfast his chef hands him lunch and he’s morbidly apathetic.  
Logan’s apologizes for being such a hardheaded and then asks why Julian’s not answering and if he’s with Danny. Julian replies ‘Just woke up, I’m not fighting with you right now’. Kyle asks about his afternoon session on EXOS and if he should fetch him, to which he answers ‘I’ll be ready in an hour’.  
He doesn’t really want to admit but he’s shaking slightly at the thought of texting Danny back. He’s scared of seeing that picture again and then having more troubled thoughts when his phone buzzes again. It’s another text from Danny.  
The first one was sent at six a.m. ‘Slept four fucking hours! How they want me to look like a decent human being? Anyway, headed to New York, wish me luck’ The second one had just been sent ‘You’re still sleeping right? I fucking hate you! Hahaha just landed and wanted to let you know I’m fine.’  
“Logan?” Rita, his incredibly talented chef, asks standing in front of him on the other side of the counter.  
“No.” and when she gives him a funny look he adds “Why?”  
“You’re smiling.”  
“I usually do when I see funny things.” he replies with a shrug and she raises her brows before turning away.  
‘Great! If you’re going on Jimmy Fallon today tell him he still owes me twenty bucks for the Jets bet’ he texts back to Danny. He’s in a break halfway through his training session when he realizes the actor never answered. It’s odd to know the next few days until the ACM’s are going to be like that.  
After texting Logan back, who seems much happier ever since he found Danny’s not remotely close to him, he goes back to training forgetting about his phone till later that evening. He’s home watching the Champions league reprises he’s recorded when the brunette finally texts him back.  
Julian’s not used to this. Not the absence, he’s pretty much used to that now with Logan off touring most of the time. What he’s finding hard to adapt to is the nine to ten hours he has to wait to hear back from his fake boyfriend. It’s like he’s missing a part of his day and even Layla, who dropped by late on Friday to leave his plane ticket for the next afternoon, notices he keeps checking his phone for new messages.  
“What’s up? Missing Danny Boy?” She asks, sitting down beside him on the couch and stealing one of his chicken nuggets.  
“Ha, funny.” Julian retorts rolling his eyes. He’s not missing Danny, they’re not close enough for that. He just got used to having the man annoying the hell out of him constantly. “Don’t touch my food.” There’s no heat in his words and she laughs.  
“I know...” Layla tells him. “I got used seeing him here. But you know neither of you will be able to see each other that much, right? He goes back to shooting in Vancouver in a month and you have the OTA’s.”  
“For God’s sake we’ve known each other for ten days.” Julian says shooting Layla an annoyed look. “I’m not missing him and I won’t miss him when he’s in Canada.”  
“Then why are you checking your phone every two minutes?”  
“Out of habit.” He lies, turning away from her.  
“No, it’s not.” Layla goes for another nugget and Julian bats her hand away. She goes for it again ignoring his protests. “Logan usually is in a concert by this time, so he’s not texting. Tom is in Costa Rica, so too busy to text. I’m here and Kyle is dead to the world. Who would you be texting?”  
“Rob.” Julian offers weakly.  
“On a cruise.” She counters.  
Julian groans and gives in “Ok! But I’m not missing him, I’m just having trouble adapting. He’s a fast replier and I got used texting him.”  
“That’s why you’re watching The Tonight Show?” He nods at her “Good publicity.”  
They watch as Danny walks in, smiling and waving to the crowd. Jimmy and the actor chat about the new season of the show he’s on, Devilish Roads. Danny’s excited about the season they will start to shoot and he talks about his relationship with Richard Armitage, who turned out to be a great friend after the beef they had all through the first season.  
Julian knows they’re close, nauseatingly so. Danny had shown him a few funny texts over their dates and even one where he calls Danny a ‘fucking twat’ because he had been hiding Julian for a year and a half.  
He’s smiling to himself and ignoring the way Layla is looking at him when Jimmy brings him up, asking Danny if Julian is the jealous type.  
“No.” He says his smile suddenly as sweet as it can be. “Not of me. He doesn’t have to. Julian knows I dated a lot and it’s not something to be ashamed.” He stops to think for a bit and looks away like he’s remembering something. “No, he knows I’m all.”  
It’s not the first and it’s not going to be the last time he’s shocked by Danny’s abilities. He’s incredibly good at what he does, leaving no room for doubt. He even questions himself for a bit, is Danny’s into him for real? But he shrugs it off and pushes that thought aside.  
“Oh, by the way.” Danny looks at Jimmy with a grin. “Julian wants his twenty bucks for that bet you two had.”  
Jimmy proceeds to explain the bet and they play drinko, but Julian is lost. Worlds away from what’s happening on the screen.  
By the time the show is over, he’s too tired to care about Layla teasing him for officially becoming Danny Amendola’s boyfriend to the world. He just wants his bed and to forget the way his ears are ringing and how fast his heart is beating.  
Danny’s infuriatingly annoying, seemingly able to push all his buttons. But the way he talks about Julian is simply majestic. As if, he was the sun or something as equally beautiful. Julian catches himself wishing that Logan would do the same, even though he knows some of the singer’s songs are about him. He’s happy with them but he knows Logan would never admit he wrote My Quarterback (not even considering Kelsey was nominated for Song of The Year).  
The next afternoon he lands in Vegas and the first thing he does is text Danny to let the actor know he’s alright, and for the first time in four days Danny replies in less than a minute.  
‘Hey don’t gamble. Our future is in your hands. I’m not dating an addict.’  
He laughs at the text and makes a mental note to take a picture at the first blackjack table he sees, but Logan is waiting for him when he gets to his floor and everything else disappears. His heart swells and he has to refrain himself from jumping on him until they close the door.  
“Fuck, I missed you.” Logan mumbles in his hair later when they’re naked in bed. Julian sitting between his legs covered in sweat, his head on the singer’s shoulder.  
“You have no idea.” Julian says, his hand tracing abstract patterns on Logan’s thigh. He feels so much better finally, he’s satisfied and doesn’t have that itch under his skin. “I hate when you’re touring.”  
“I have to.” He kisses Julian’s temple and caresses his forearm. “If I could I would bring you with me babe.”  
Julian shivers and Logan smiles, assuming it’s because they’re together again, but it’s not that. Something is off about the pet name and Julian simply doesn’t know why. So instead of admitting it feels weird, he just presses himself to Logan's chest tighter and smiles when the singer kisses his earlobe.  
“When do you have to go?” Julian asks when Logan let’s go of him and gets up.  
“In a bit.” He answers pulling his jeans on. “I have to meet with Blake and Luke.”  
“Can I tag along?” Julian asks, not really wanting staying alone. “I mean, I know it’s your boys’ night, but I’d like to meet two of your best friends.”  
“You understand that if you do, you’re just my friend Julian, right?” Logan sits on the bed to put his socks back on and Julian nods, hugging him from behind. “We’re having a sound check and then beers if you’re up for it.”  
Agreeing, Julian goes for a shower and when he’s comes out of the bathroom he discovers Logan’s not in his room. There’s a note on the nightstand saying he’s back in his room and he’ll meet him in the lobby.  
Julian is in a black sweater over a white shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbows and jeans when they meet. Logan looks like a proper country boy, boots, hunting cap, blue Henley and jeans so tight he can see the outline of his ass perfectly. Normally, he’d low key compliment his boyfriend’s ass but two reasons stop him dead on track.  
First, there are two men with him. Blake Shelton is a freaking Sasquatch in a camouflage jacket and Luke Bryan looks like a teenager next them. Blake is huge and Logan is almost as tall as he is while Luke appears to be the size of an average guy.  
Second, suddenly he remembers Danny’s ass in boxer briefs. He shakes his head to clear his thoughts and but his mind won’t let them go. Danny probably had to put some good work to make that butt so round, but his parents deserved congrats for winning the genetic lottery. No ass, not even the ones that had seen a lot of gym time, were that perfect.  
“Hey bubs” Logan smiles at him and pats his shoulder before half-hugging him. Julian was so lost in the thoughts of Danny’s picture he didn’t even notice he was beside the group of country singers. Smiling back at Logan, he’s stiff at best when he accepts his hug.  
Lately, he notes unamused, he’s been forced to act more than he cared for.  
It’s not usual to be introduced to Logan’s friends as one of his bros. Well, it’s not usual to be introduced by Logan, period. They never talked to anyone about their relationship aside from their PR’s and PA’s, so it’s a new ground to have two friendly guys smiling at him as they shake hands.  
“Where’s Noah?” Luke asks playfully when they’re walking to the arena. Julian can see Logan tighten his fist, but his face stays neutral. They had marathoned Devilish Roads when it came out and his boyfriend surely knows who Noah Armstrong is. He couldn’t shut up about him and Mordred at the time.  
Julian is about to reply when he remembers he still hasn’t answered Danny. Mortified, he shoves his hand into his pocket and retrieves his phone.  
“Noah?” He hears Blake saying. Looking at the man, he receives a raised brow and a shrug, proving Blake is completely unaware of one of the biggest TV shows of the last decade.  
“Danny.” He answers looking back to his phone. There’s a string of messages from the actor and he can’t help but feel guilty. Not only for not answering them but for how Logan moves a bit away from him. “My boyfriend.” Julian adds trying not to crisp his lips at the lie.  
“Oh Amendola.” Blake says after taking a sip from his Starbucks cup, that, judging by his face, was probably filled with something that wasn’t coffee. “We met before. Watched the Patriots vs Arizona at the same bar. Nice guy!”  
They move from Amendola and chat until they reach the arena. Logan doesn’t say much and Julian’s phone burning in his palm. He wants to talk to Danny and see what the man texted him. But he doesn’t want any more trouble, so he sits down in a front-row and watches as the three men move towards the stage.  
‘Hey, I’m coming tonight.’  
‘Hope you’re not having sex.’  
‘Oh my God! You’re having sex.’  
‘I’m pushing my ticket!’  
‘I’m not coming tonight.’  
‘Holy shit, you’re coming tonight! Haha’  
‘Hey, after Superman is done text me back.’  
Julian is smiling hard and is about to text back when his phone buzzes again and there’s a new message from Danny.  
‘Is he using Viagra? It’s been six hours!’  
‘Fuck no! Is there a human who can last six hours?’ Julian shoots back before looking at the stage to see the trio having fun with their guitars and not even looking at him, so he turns back to his phone to see Danny’s new text.  
‘I can last two and a half. No pills.’  
‘Ha! Not possible!’ He sends before he can’t think of the implications of what they’re talking about. Then his traitorous mind goes straight to the assets Danny displayed in a lot of movies and under the covers with other partners. He can perfectly see the scene where the actor hoisted Emma Stone up, but he catches himself thinking if he would be strong enough to do the same to his male partners.  
‘I can prove if you want ;)’  
‘Danny.’  
He doesn’t expect the actor to reply and doesn’t look back down at the device again. He has his head full of funny country singers asking him to come up on stage and sing with them even though he’s a lousy singer and moves as graciously as Blake trying to do the Moonwalk, which is almost as ridiculous as Logan twerking. Luke seems to be the only one with a bit of swag or even knows how to move coordinately, so of course, they’re laughing like there’s no tomorrow when they go to the hotel bar.  
They chat about everything till late into the night and Logan even tells them that He’s Healthy was based on Julian and the way he’s the healthiest man he’s ever met. To which the receiver replies that if one day they’re around Boston he’s going to introduce them to Tom. Of course that’s an offer, and he can see his boyfriend understands by the way he smiles before downing his shot.  
Julian knows he’s offering a part of his world to Logan, like the singer did with Blake and Luke and maybe it’s how it’s going to be for them. They’ll open up little by little, even though it feels like they know everything there is to know about each other. One day maybe, he’ll get to meet Logan’s family and introduce him to his own.  
After a year that is.  
He’s still thinking about the year and maybe he’s done something wrong with pretending to date another man when Logan tells him he can’t spend the night in the singer’s room. They’re on his floor and Julian never intended to go back to his room, but he finds himself nodding and turning away bitterly.  
“Baby.” Logan pulls him to a hug, but Julian doesn’t move, too hurt to think about anything. He had just opened up about introducing Logan to his closest friend and had had one of the best nights he has ever had with his boyfriend only to see it end up like this and be ok.  
“I’m not saying we can’t have more time together.” Logan starts again, opening the door to his room and stepping aside to let Julian walk in. No matter where it is, Logan’s suites are always messy, clothes scattered and acoustic guitars on the corner and it’s quite comforting to know his boyfriend is the same man he loves everywhere. “I’m just saying.” Logan takes a sit on a couch and reaches for a guitar while Julian sprawls out across his bed. “That you can’t be here in the morning. I know it sucks but they’re going to film in the morning and if you’re here… well, you know.”  
“They want the Thomases together,” Julian replies mockingly, but his heart is not in the joke. He’s sad that once again Logan is putting him aside and for a second or two he catches himself wishing Danny hadn’t pushed his trip.  
“Thomas is so funny babe.” And there is the pet name again. It doesn’t sound good and Julian has to fight his inquietude to stay still, but then Logan starts to sing to him and it’s all disappears.  
They kiss goodbye so quickly, afraid someone might catch them and it leaves a bad taste in his mouth and it’s not the vodka mixed with beer they had been drinking.  
It’s way much worse than that.  
It’s the gut feeling that he deserves someone that’s going to kiss the living daylights out of him no matter the odds of them getting caught.  
The moment he steps into the elevator to go back to his room, his mind offers Danny’s voice.  
“If this was real, then I’d have sucked the air out of you.”  
He shakes his head to dissipate the thought but he knows it’s true. He deserves that, he wants Logan to do to him what Danny wanted to do to him. He wanted Logan to be more like Danny, carefree and passionate and he wants to be Emma Stone.  
The elevator's doors open and Julian is texting Danny when he walks out. A phone goes ding and he looks up to see Danny sitting on the floor, a Patriots duffle bag close to his leg. His feet are moving before he can realize what's happening and his heart is about to beat right out of his ribcage, but he simply doesn't care.  
The only thought in the receiver’s mind is of the man on the floor. There he is in the flesh sitting outside his hotel room like it’s a daily occurrence. Julian’s swears Danny must be able to read minds; like the actor knew exactly what he needed and when.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I disappeared, I know, I'm sorry.


	3. Everyone is Crazy About Sharp Dressed Danny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Julian and Danny share a bed, clothes, go to an award together and Julian gets confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back thanks to @Patriots1180   
> Also, Logan's song is one I actually wrote.

Danny lets a 'whoof' out as his back hits the ground. Julian is on top of him with his arms around his neck and he's smiling as his own arms wrap around the other man's waist.

They stay still for a minute, just taking in each other's presence. To Danny; Julian smells like something new and enticing, like a sweet pie he shouldn't touch. To Julian, Danny is spicy, like an enticing hot pepper sauce he can't help but crave.

"Hey bubs." Julian is lost in Danny's eyes as the brunette speaks. His eyes inviting him in and sucking him to the mischievous depths of his chocolate irises. "You missing me that much?"

Suddenly realizing he's still on top of Danny, warm soft hands grazing the skin that was exposed when he almost tackled Danny to the ground. The receiver rolls away from Danny and stands up.

"Jerk." He murmurs fishing his key card from his pocket. "Why are you here? You said you pushed your ticket!"

"Couldn't." Danny shrugs and follows Julian inside. The bed sheets had been changed and Julian gets this weird feeling that he's glad Danny was not there to see it. His chest is screaming not let the other man anywhere close to and he wonders where that came from. Because he wants Logan everywhere in his life, just not near Danny, apparently.

"Why were you outside? I know it's not ideal, but we do have to share a room." Julian says moving towards the closet to get a new set of clothes so he could go to bed. He is most definitely not thinking about sleeping in the same bed as Danny. As his brain is offering up images of Danny and of how Julian wanted to be touched minutes before.

"Didn't want Superman to feel bad." Danny takes off his shirt and folds it, before putting it on top of his bag and moving to lay on the bed.

Julian's mouth is dry and he's trying hard not to look at Danny's abs, but it's no use, his eyes keep going back to the path of dark hair trailing down his beautifully sculpted muscles into the hem of his jeans. The actor’s body is quite similar to Julian's own body, but his edges are natural, as if Danny was born to look like the perfect specimen.

"Superman?" Julian asks weakly.

"Yeah," Danny kicks his shoes off and looks at Julian nonchalantly. All that crosses Julian's mind is that Danny should have more scenes like that, sprawled on a bed, socks on and no shirt, just waiting for his love interest to come. "Do you really think that if I had the chance to touch you like he does this whole floor wouldn't have already asked to change rooms?!"

It hits too close to home and Julian is extremely uncomfortable. He wants Logan to be more like that and he blames Danny for it. Everything was perfect until he showed up.

He doesn't say anything, just moves into the bathroom and hits the shower again, annoyed and inexplicably horny. Julian wants more, he wants... he doesn't know what he wants, but his head has a non-stop cacophony of loud moans that sound like amplified versions of his own sounds when he's in bed with Logan that is not helping him. He's pretty sure he's never moaned like that. EVER.

When he comes back to the room, still a bit wet wearing sweatpants and a tank-top to find Danny under the covers, snoring a bit and in the middle of the bed.

Smiling to himself, his anger already dissipating, he walks to the bedside closer to the door and carefully pushes Danny enough to make room for him to sleep without them touching. Julian doesn't need more frustration or time to think about the actor.

Julian doesn't realize when he falls asleep, but it's quicker than he usually takes. It's not like when he sleeps with Logan or as cold as it gets when he's alone. The covers are in the perfect temperature and Danny's little snores are a rhythmical lullaby, drifting him into sleep in a matter of seconds.

Trouble hits them in the morning.

He's aware of an almost naked warm body pressed against his back and his foggy mind thinks it's Logan. He snuggles closer, letting his boyfriend enlace his arm around his waist. Julian's blissfully happy spooning his hot man, who had his nose buried in his hair and one of his powerful thighs in between Julian's own.

They're quiet on the bed for a minute or two when something inside Julian shifts. He's felt Logan's dick a thousand times and he knows it's not like that. Logan has a nice cock, but the one pressed into his lower back is huge and demanding his attention as it thrusts up.

A low moan echoes through the room and Julian jumps away.

Danny is still sleeping, but his morning wood is impressive as the covers slip away from his body and to the floor.

Forcing himself to look away, Julian gets some clothes from his bag and dashes into the bathroom, changing into a sweatshirt and jeans, before heading out to eat breakfast. He needs to get away from Danny, and how his body reacted for the minutes he thought it was Logan. It's not his fault, he tells himself on his way down.

Julian's almost done eating when he realizes something is off with his clothes. His jeans are not that skinny and he doesn't remember bringing a Patriots hoodie, or his clothes smelling like Tom Ford's cologne.

He can't bring himself to eat the last forks of his omelet when he understands he's in Danny's clothes. Julian was so out of his mind and desperate to get away that he went to the actor's bag that was pretty similar to one he had and got his clothes. He prays that Danny is not up yet all the way to his room, only to be disappointed to see the brunette shirtless, sitting with his back against the bed frame, watching TV and, to Julian's shock, wearing his black JE11 joggers.

"Imagine my surprise to see that my favorite jeans were gone," Danny says before Julian has the time to do anything other than blush hard and try not to die from embarrassment.

The worst is, Danny does not move his eyes from the TV. He's eating chips like he does that every day.

He does not.

Those are Julian's joggers and he's the one who watches Netflix and eats Lays in it. They were not supposed to look like they were tailor-made for Danny's legs or to make Julian want to jump onto the bed and rip them off of the actor.

Julian's not sure if he’s is jealous of how good Danny looks like this or because those are his comfier pair of JE11 shit. But something inside him insists on pointing out that the man in his bed most definitely strikes him as his. As if he's proud of being with Julian, which he's not (not really).

"Are you alright, Jules?" The actor finally looks at him and Julian can't look away from his joggers. "You can't be that uncomfortable with me wearing your shit," Danny's voice snap him out of his thoughts and forces him to look up to the actor, who has one of his brows raised. "You wearing my Pats hoodie too..." He pauses for a bit and a dangerous smile slowly spreads on his lips, making Julian hyper-aware of the eyes on him. "Are you in my underwear now? Cause that would be kinda hot."

Julian's eyes go wide as he realizes he had never got into his boxers after waking up. He had never worn underwear to bed in all his adult life, freedom is not supposed to feel like your dick is trapped in a cage all night long.

"No," He answers forcefully as he moves towards his bag. This time it's his and he knows it is because his boxers didn't half CK stamped all over them.

Danny's disbelieving laughter warns Julian that he lost his battle of trying to hide his underwear in his own jeans.

"I want those jeans back." The brunette says as Julian enters the bathroom and slams the door close. "For scientific purposes, I swear. I need to find out if I'm jealous of my jeans or if I can use them when I'm alone." Danny adds, sounding much closer, as if he's just outside the door.

It annoys Julian to no end that he can hear the smirk in Danny's voice. Like, he has to know empathy is a thing, especially if it's towards a poor and very compromised fella who got confused because a giant dick was being pressed to his backside as he woke up.

'He had no way of knowing that' his always betraying mind offers.

However, the worst part of all of that is that Danny's smell is starting to get to him. It makes him dizzy as his jeans pool around his feet. Julian doesn't know why but part of him just doesn't want to let go of the hoodie. It's warm and it smells great and he has to force himself to get out of it or else he'd probably keep it to himself.

"Shit," Danny groans and Julian knows the actor can’t see him or read his thoughts but the man did he have a sixth sense for the most annoying moment to say shit? He's about to throw the hoodie away when the actor opens his mouth again "Come on, you can't be serious, babe."

That's when his body does a thing he's not proud of.

For some reason, he had felt his body rejecting the name yesterday when Logan said it. But as soon as he hears it coming out of Danny's mouth, he has full body shivers, which he’d love to deny. Instead of tossing the offending shirt away, his first reaction was to bring the blue article of clothing to his face and bury his nose in and take a sniff.

When he finally realizes what he's doing and how hard he is, the hoodie burns his hand as if it is on fire, making him drop it to the floor. He jumps backwards hitting the wall behind him.

"Julian, are you alright?" Danny's voice is full of concern and Julian has to remind himself he needs to breathe and that he doesn't have to say a single word. Even though the brunette man sounds genuinely interested in his state. "Julian," He starts again a few minutes later when the younger man is still pressed against the wall and eyeing Danny's clothes on the floor. One hand covering his open-wide mouth and the other hand tugging at his hair. "Imma break this fucking door down if you don't answer in the next five seconds."

He is desperate and his mind conjures the images of his boyfriend singing his new song, the one he knows it's for him. He’d heard Logan playing with the chorus, he couldn't betray him.

"I'm fine." He sounds alright even though there's an edge of desperation in his tone.

"You sure don't sound like it." Danny answers and he finally leaves him in peace. Julian making sure not to dwell on the images his mind offers of cheating on Logan.

"Danny, let it go." He answers before turning on the shower to inhumanly cold to help himself to control his body. He doesn't need any more guilt, he's already feeling bad enough. And then he freaking had to go commando in clothes that weren't his and even sniff the hoodie just to get another whiff of Tom Ford cologne.

Julian goes back to the room in his own jeans and in a blue Henley, his hair wet and he can't help but blush as soon as he sees Danny still in his joggers.

"Can we forget this happened?" He sits on the bed and looks at Danny from over his shoulder.

"Now that I took off my undies to make us even?" Danny shoots Julian a mockingly annoyed look. The Wide Receiver rolls his eyes at the actor and pushes himself up 'till they're sitting side by side. "This shit is comfy!" The brunette says right after Julian gets a hand full of chips even though he had eaten less than half an hour before. "I don't know why I don't own five pairs of them."

"That's cause you're a lousy boyfriend," Julian retorts sarcastically, with his mouth full of chips.

"Wait, now I'm your boyfriend..." Danny asks and Julian is about to reply 'well, yeah,' when he sees that the actor is holding his laughter, so he punches his arm in vengeance. He has no idea what's so funny but Danny seems to be having a hard time saying what he's thinking. He takes a deep breath before saying, "Then, I demand my jeans back. I gotta honor the memory of my boyfriend's dick by using it as spank bank material."

"Fuck you." Julian groans as Danny laughs genuinely. His eyes are closed, tears running down his now red face, and he's struggling to breathe.

Julian can't help but think it's one of the most beautiful scenes he's ever seen.

They spend the entire day watching action flicks and even order take out because they're too lazy to do shit.

Danny is hilarious and his impressions are ridiculously off for an actor and that's how Ophelia and Peter, the guys Jacquelyn hired to help them to get ready, find them. Both men are laughing their asses off and Julian even has Cheetos stains on his Henley.

Everything after that is a blur, the two stylists drag them around and there's makeup, hairs being combed, clothes being thrown off the garment rack they brought till they find the perfect one and, "No Julian! For the thousandth time, you can't keep the beard. There's too much of that already!"

"That's what he said," Danny says walking back into the room exactly after Ophelia's sentence.

Julian's eyes zero on Danny's smile, it's so full of confidence and mischief as if he's ready to break hearts everywhere. And he might be, all sharp dressed in a perfectly tailored dark charcoal suit and fitting white shirt with the top buttons opened.

"You wish," Julian mutters trying not to move his face much and gives him the middle finger from the chair he's sitting. They're wearing similar outfits, but Julian's all-black version is covered by a barber cape while his sweet beard falls.

"Are you getting that awful thing out of his face? Amen!" The actor says, patting the blonde woman on the shoulder as Peter walks past them.

"Not everyone knows when to stop." The black-haired man says from the back of the room. "It's nice to know you keep a perfect beard, Daniel."

Something inside Julian twists at the tone Peter is using, it's annoyingly sweet as if he's trying to hit on Danny and what's on the man's mind to think he can call him Daniel. He never uses it, he's not used to it and not even his family calls him by his real name anymore. Julian has to stifle a smile when he realizes he only knows that because Danny had told him earlier when they were talking over their burgers.

"Thank you, Peter." Danny replies, too polite to sound like himself.

"Told you to call me Anderson." Peter offers Danny a smile and the actor looks at Julian in exasperation and rolls his eyes.

"You're ganging up on me, SourPatch?" Julian asks when Ophelia finally moves to his neck to get rid of the rest of his beloved beard.

"Wouldn't dream of it, sweetheart." The actor sits on the bed and from where Julian is he can see Peter grimacing. Julian is so happy that he can't contain his smile, earning him a slap on the shoulder from Ophelia and a grin from Danny.

Once they're walking the red carpet, Danny with his arm on the lowest part of Julian's back, and no one from their staff is close, he moves closer and mutters "Can you believe the fucker?" His breath on Julian's ear never fails in making him shivering, but this time there's a smile on his face. Not because he's used to it, but because he can understand where Peter is coming from. Honestly, if he wasn't in love with Logan he'd hit on Danny hard.

"Julian. Danny." A woman's voice call them and Julian has no time to make fun of him. "How is it going boys?"

"Las Vegas and country music," Julian says quickly. "Can't get much better,"

"Can't complain," Danny answers as they move closer to the blonde fairy-looking reporter in a white blouson dress. "Nice view, nice music and some awesome company."

"I imagine you're wearing Calvin Klein," She says running her hand through her hair and offering them the microphone.

"He wouldn't let me hear the end of it if I wasn't," Julian replies surprised he's not lying to the cameras. Danny really had insisted they had to wear Calvin Klein, because what type of model would he be if he wasn't wearing it. Apparently Dusty would never let him live it down and all Julian could think was 'who the hell is Dusty?'

"And how you hanging Danny?" She says smiling enthusiastically at Danny and Julian is taken aback by the intimacy. "When I interviewed you yesterday for your new upcoming movie, The Good Samaritan, you seemed so tired!"

"Oh, I was." The actor replies smiling and Julian feels his hand slip to his waist before he's being pulled closer to Danny. "But one night with this guy and I can do it all over again."

Julian can’t help but look over his shoulder to meet Danny's eyes and smile back at the man. Times like this he forgets Danny is an actor, he looks so in love and Julian would probably fall for it if he was a reporter.

"You two are so sweet." The woman breaks their bubble and Julian looks back at her, blushing.

"I was so scared he wouldn't be able to make it," Julian says and he really means it. "He has been working so hard and just yesterday he was in Florida. I thought maybe he wouldn't make it."

"Oh come on,” Danny says before depositing a quick kiss to his temple. "There's nothing that I'd put above this man," Julian feels his heart do a weird thing and he's really touched about how Danny sounds. "He deserves the classiest man ever and I’m going to be that man."

It's a jab at Logan and Julian knows it. But it's exactly what his heart needs to hear.

After ten minutes chatting with different reporters they finally get in, a young man in a tux leading them to their seats right next to Scott McCreery and his wife.

When Logan comes on stage everything else disappears. Julian can't think of anything else but how good his boyfriend looks in tight jeans, grey vest and a freaking cowboy hat. Next time he's ordering Logan to keep it on and be rough.

Julian is so unaware of everything else he doesn't feel Danny's hand tightening his grip on the edge of his seat or how his smile pretty much vanishes every time Logan walks into the stage.

Not that Julian would care if he had seen it, he and Danny are not an item! He doesn't have to feel bad when Logan's not there, but he does. He does want one of them to leave and he's not sure which one. Should Danny be gone so he can appreciate his real boyfriend without feeling guilty or should Logan disappear so he can stop worrying and holding back his laughter at Danny's Sam Hunt impression?

It's not fair to him that he has to be this torn between them when he shouldn't even be in this situation in the first place.

The award ceremony goes by so quickly and he doesn't realize it's almost done. He becomes aware once Thomas is pulling Logan back on stage. He can’t believe his ears as Danny sings along with the music the group is singing on the stage.

"You know Logan's songs?" Julian asks baffled and Danny shrugs and sings all the words to the first part. "You said didn't like him!"

"Never said it!" Danny's smile is so naughty that Julian can only think about how he looks like a wicked kid and he can only smile back. "Waking up to someone you don't know by your side whispering I love you." The actor mouths along and the wide receiver tries to sing it as well, but the other man just shakes his head and Julian knows he's completely off-key.

Fishing his phone in his pocket, Julian opens his Instagram account and records Danny harmonizing to "Finding your car in the pool and your phone in the bath, nothing funnier or scarier than that, but in the end, you get to laugh like ooooooh," He laughs in the background noticing Scott dancing awkwardly.

The song comes to an end and Julian is shocked to find out that he hadn’t once looked at Logan after Danny started singing.

He can't let his face give in what he's feeling, so he just smiles weakly and follows Danny.

"You not fine." The actor states when they're in the back of the limo heading to an after-party.

"And lately you seem to repeat things like that a lot." Julian replies rolling his eyes, but he knows Danny is right. He's not fine and he simply doesn't know why he couldn't take his eyes off of the actor when his handsome man was on stage.

Danny is hot, he knows it. It's clear that the man is attractive and that his body is very interested in his promises of wild things he's offering (the very ones Logan had said were not his type of thing). But it's no reason to forget his boyfriend completely every time Danny's around and Logan is not. Logan is hot too. Sure, he is getting a little fatter than he used to be but it's cute and sweet, and Julian does like sweet.

There's a dark part inside of him saying that Danny is the whole package he always dreamed of. He shuts the voice quickly and ignores how the actor’s masculine features are focused on him.

"Alright, babe." is the last thing Danny says leaning away from Julian and leaving him alone with his shivers.

"Blake," Julian says when they finally arrive at the party, smiling at the huge man in a flannel shirt standing in the doorway, with a red solo cup in his hands and a platinum-haired man in a leather jacket by his side.

The dude is sexy and whoever decided he was the sexiest man alive was really onto something.

Two steps away from fangirling hard, Julian feels Danny's hand tighten in his as if he is trying to control himself. Looking away from Adam Levine and Blake, Julian turns to Danny who's following him and says "Is the great Danny Amendola about to let his inner fangirl out?"

"Julian." Danny warns and the receiver is laughing so hard at the sudden change of roles.

He's aware the rock and the country music stars are looking at them, but Julian can't stop. Danny always knows what to do and say in every situation. But now Julian is offering something he doesn't know quite how to deal with and the younger man finds it hilarious.

"What up?" Julian says as he recovers his breath. Blake is eyeing him as if he thinks they're already drunk and Adam just seems too cool to be there. "I'm sorry about that scene," And he fights not to start to laugh again, but Danny is by his side looking like he doesn't know what to do next and that’s a first for him.

"Hey, Julian," Blake looks at Adam "This dickhead here is Adam. Adam Levine."

Adam smiles politely at them and offers his hand, which Julian shakes briefly and Danny slowly lets his hand go to do the same.

"You said you two met before but this is my boyfriend," The word almost dies in his throat but he says it anyway. "Danny," The actor's lips curve into a bright smile. "He's used to being fangirled over, but not the other way around. So, I'm sorry in advance for whatever he does."

Blake's laughter is like a summer day and Adam's high and they complement each other so well that even when Danny shoots him a murderous glare he can't stop following them.

"I'm not doing anything," Danny says crossing his arms in front of his chest defensively and looking back at Adam. Julian has to remind himself the man is actually an actor and that he is used to hiding what he's feeling and there's not a single shade of pink in his cheeks. It's more like he's annoyed at Julian for a poor joke.

"He's a big fan, Adam." Julian tells the rock star who seems really flattered.

"Thanks man," Adam replies starting to get loose and Julian doesn't really want to know what's inside their cups. "See Cowboy?" He elbows Blake's side and the tall man beams at him. "Noah likes my music! Who's famous and listen to you?"

For a split second, Julian thinks he might have seen Danny's eyes widen in shock, but it's gone in a second when he blinks so he just dismisses it.

"Why everyone keeps calling you Noah?" Blake gets closer to Danny and pats him on the shoulder. "It's Amendola! You don't see me calling Edelman, Pats do you dipshit?"

Danny slowly relaxes and they chat for a few minutes when Luke comes out the door and drags the four of them inside, grinning like a kid as he introduces himself to Danny. He even askes if he could use him to blackmail other people, to which the actor answered Richard was the bad one. So maybe he could convince the English man to go Mordred for him.

Julian simply doesn't realize his boyfriend is even until he notices him out of the corner of his eye. Logan is sitting in a corner of the spacious room with cream-colored walls. He still is in the same clothes he wore back at the ACM's, but the hat is gone (Julian's kinda disappointed) and he's next to a spacious wooden staircase chatting with Thomas Rhett and his wife.

There's no way to describe the way his heart beats inside his ribcage the moment Logan sets eyes on him. The blonde country singer is so handsome that Julian zones out for a bit.

Considering his life is a mess, being pulled down by Danny kissing his temple should have been expected. But it wasn’t and he literally knocks the cup out of the actor’s hands as he offers it.

"I'm sorry." He says, watching Logan from afar. He watches Logan crisps his lips and looks down.

Julian can't do it. He can't watch the man he loves mad at him for something he can't do for him, without getting mad at Logan for putting him in this situation and at Danny for being such a perfect actor as he holds him by the waist kisses him sweetly in front of everyone.

"I can see you looking at him," Danny whispers in his ear, his voice is as free of emotion as it gets. "You can go! Pretend you want a drink, walk around a bit first and then go to him. Try not to be obvious, though. I don't want people saying my man cheats."

As Danny watches Julian walking away with Luke, he says he needs fresh air and leaves the room for a bench in the perfect garden just outside the mansion.

If he's being honest with himself, Danny's not exactly mad Julian left him there. He had been expecting it.

No... it's more like he's jealous of the man.

It's not possible that the fierce blonde is in love with a seven feet tall Vanilla Donut. And to think Julian actually enjoys the feeling of being constantly showered with almost diabetic shit. It’s enough to make him sick to his stomach.

They're slowly becoming friends, almost two weeks of constantly being together, do that to most people. Danny is not interested in more than a friendship with benefits, so he's not really trying his best to get Julian in his good graces. They just talk and if Danny hits on him is only to see how red he gets and how long it will take before Julian switches to carefree mode and flirts back as he does in his interviews.

It took him a while to realize that's a thing Julian does to make him feel better regarding personal questions. Maybe he wouldn't flirt back if he wasn’t deflecting but by then he was too invested to stop.

Danny is deep in thought about what he's supposed to do now that he really wants Julian to realize he deserves more than the plain boring gigantic cowboy that is his real boyfriend (he's not suggesting he should be the one taking his place, because he doesn’t want that) when the too-familiar low voice hits him.

"I don't like you."

"Oh yeah?" Danny answers wryly, placing a sarcastic smirk on his lips as he turns around to see the Vanilla Donut himself in the flesh.

Logan's arms are crossed in front of his puffed-out chest and he'd be terrifying if Danny was to face him in a fistfight. Which wouldn't happen because, from everything he knows about Logan, the dude is as pacific as the ocean or even more.

"You want to know how many?" He continues, looking straight into Logan's eyes.

"How many what?" The country singer asks, furrowing his brows and pouting like the giant kid he is.

Danny can't believe the guy actually asked that! It's not possible he's that stupid. When he finally stands up, as tall as Logan's nose, he spits out, "Fucks I give about your opinion."

Immediately, he can see Logan's face twist and he's afraid he might have overstepped a bit, but it is totally worthy. Maybe he'd need another week to get his face ready to film again and Bobby, his director, and Danielle, the writer of the show, would be so mad at him. What was he supposed to do, let the speaking vanilla donut get off with his shit?

"You think you so clever." Logan gets even closer, his arms falling to his side and Danny's sure he's going to get punched.

"Oh, I know I am," He answers in the same threatening tone Logan used. Danny is not drawing blood first, but his hands are balled into fists and he's going to retaliate if the country singer as much as touches a strand of his hair.

"Apparently not enough to know better than to mess with my man." The country singer is changing his stance and they're close to getting real.

"Sorry, can you say that louder?" Danny puts his best sarcastic mask on and if he hadn't a real argument to dislike Logan before, well aside from being an awful boyfriend, he has one now. He could be jealous as fuck, but not stepping up to let everyone know Julian is HIS boyfriend and then threatening the guy that's doing is a dick move. "Oh yeah! You can't! You ain't classy enough for him, nor brave enough to be by his side."

"I don't see him complaining about being with me." Logan gives him a sly smirk and Danny wants to punch that shit out of his face, but if he wants to make it sexual……

Danny can make anyone get embarrassed, let alone a closeted country singer.

"Right," He shakes his head. "That's because you haven't seen how red he gets when I remind him that a true man would have been with him last night making him moan so loud the whole floor would hear it!"

Logan's fist goes back and Danny prepares himself for the blow when Luke's voice saves him. "Logan!" And suddenly they're surrounded by the group of people he met earlier and two new guys.

"See you finally met Danny, Logan." Says the black-haired guy in an equally black shirt that Danny recognizes as Thomas Rhett. He does his best to smile brightly at the man and everyone buys it. "Thomas." The guy shakes his hand. "Logan and I toured together, he loves Devilish Roads."

"Oh, really?" Danny asks looking at Logan and he can see the guy trying to restrain himself.

"Yeah," Logan says weakly and Danny feels powerful watching Logan excusing himself and walk back inside.

"He's been off all night." Says the guy that the group introduces as Brett.

The group is chatting for half an hour, with Blake making them drink a disgusting mix of Crystal Light and Bacardi. Danny finally had just gotten to talk to Adam when Julian comes back. He's pale under the outside lights but his expression screams dead-serious and Danny knows Logan told him about their little chat earlier.

"Sorry guys," Danny smiles apologetically at the group. "I think it's time to go," He nods in Julian's direction and he hears a collective 'ooooh' on his way to Julian. The receiver, however, doesn't say a single word till they're in the front of the house alone.

"What did you say to Logan?" The wide receiver muttered.

"Aside from the fact that I think he's a jerk?" He answers his tone low and matching the younger man’s. He knows this is going to be bad press, there are paparazzi everywhere and the look Julian is giving him is not how lovers should look at each other. "Basically I told him that you deserve someone that can come out with you."

Danny can see Julian's shoulders relax a bit and his face falls, blue is definitely not Julian’s color.

"Not that I haven't thought about that before Danny." Julian looks into the older man’s eyes and he feels like he could stare at him forever. "But he's my boyfriend, so don't ask me to choose you over him because it won't happen."

If words could hurt physically, those words were a slap in Danny's face. A stinging slap that left red welts behind and it's the reason why he decides to do what he does next.

"Ok Julian," Danny steps closer to Julian, inches away from touching him. He's mad, almost furious and he's going to rid himself of that feeling. "There are two reasons as to what I'm about to do now," Julian raises his brow quizzically and steps back. "First, there is a bunch of papparazzis here," Danny gets closer once again and this time one of his hands encircle the wide receiver's waist so he can't get away. "Second, I’m going to show ya what you should feel every time someone touches you."

Julian is in shock when Danny's free hand tugs his hair tightly and he can't move. Danny's lips crash on his and his brain short-circuited.

His body zeroes on the actor's teeth scraping his bottom lip. Julian feels a moan coming from the back of his throat and as soon as it comes out Danny's tongue is inside his mouth.

There's no way he cannot not kiss the man back, he's demanding and his body is reacting according to itself. He's getting hard in his slacks, his hands are clutching Danny's suit jacket and he's so dizzy. And suddenly Danny's mouth is gone from his, making his body feel cold and screaming at the loss.

"Don't show surprise," Danny murmurs breathlessly in his ear, as he holds Julian close. "They can't know it. I can't promise it won't happen again but I'll try to warn you first. I'm sorry."

Julian knows Danny's telling the truth but he has to hide his face in the other man's neck as he hears the clicks of the cameras. They won't be able to avoid kissing and he feels terrible for it. Somewhere inside that house, Logan is drinking his ass off; mad at Julian for having a fake boyfriend.

He also knows a massive argument with Logan is coming but all he can think about is how good it felt to be kissed roughly like that.

Julian can’t help but feel lucky that he doesn't have to spend another night in the same room as Danny. He doesn’t know if he could handle it. Thank God he's flying back to Boston in two hours and Danny's heading to Oslo in the morning.

But he knows two things for certain, Danny's really a great actor and he's screwed.

**Author's Note:**

> End Notes are my random moment, so Please listen to If Walls Could Talk - 5SOS


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